Medecins Sans Frontieres, also known as Doctors Without Borders, treated more than 87,000 children for acute malnutrition in Katsina State between January and August 2026, warning that the figure remained alarmingly high despite a slight decline from the previous year.

The international medical humanitarian organisation said in a statement issued to journalists on Wednesday by its Communication Officer, Abdul Kareem, that its teams treated more than 95,000 children for acute malnutrition during the same period in 2025.

It added that nearly 15,500 children required hospitalisation for severe or complicated conditions associated with malnutrition in the first eight months of this year, compared with approximately 16,500 during the same period in 2025.

MSF, which operates its largest nutrition programme in Katsina, said the figures highlighted the continuing nutritional crisis in northern Nigeria and the urgent need for sustained funding to prevent avoidable deaths among children.

Its Medical Coordinator in Nigeria, Dr Raphael Kananga, said the current figure is lower than in 2025, but remains extremely high and is even above what was seen two years ago.

The organisation warned that the situation remained critical, particularly because of the prevalence of kwashiorkor, a severe form of malnutrition characterised by swelling of the body and skin lesions.

According to the organisation, the condition is often difficult for parents and caregivers to recognise, delaying access to appropriate medical treatment.

To address the challenge, MSF established a specialised unit within its inpatient therapeutic feeding centre in Katsina to provide care for children suffering from kwashiorkor.

MSF identified poverty, inflation, insecurity, displacement, disease outbreaks and extreme weather as major drivers of the crisis, noting that these factors have disrupted farming and limited access to food in vulnerable communities.

The figures cover children treated in MSF facilities and do not represent the total number of malnourished children in Katsina State.